Hazel and Gray

Faraway collection

By: Nic Stone

Narrated by: Kimberly Woods

Length: 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Two anxious young lovers lost in the woods. A beckoning mansion in a dark clearing. A short modern-day retelling of Hansel and Gretel by the number one New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin.

It’s bad enough that Hazel and Gray have defied the demands of Hazel’s foul stepfather. The Monster has forbidden their romance. Now they’ve awakened in the forest, phones dead, hours past curfew. But not far away is a grand estate in the middle of nowhere. The door is open. In this short story about choosing your own path, the fury of the Monster that awaits them back home may be nothing compared to what lies ahead.

Hazel and Gray is part of Faraway, a collection of retold fairy tales that take the happily-ever-after in daring new directions. Whether read or listened to in one sitting, prepare to be charmed, moved, enlightened, and frightened all over again.

©2020 Logolepsy Media Inc. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

I found myself hard pressed to recognize this tale

I found this available free through my Amazon prime account and somehow the audio version tagged along for the ride when the ebook was downloaded!
This book was advertised as a retelling of Hansel and Gretel! I generally enjoy retellings and looked forward to listening to the book! I have to say that the story was so changed that other than the lego block scene, I would have been hard pressed to believe that it was from the fairy tale. The story was ok, and the narrator was great!

warning not a children's story

story contains graphic details of sex and details that is not suitable for young children. I can appreciate the symbolism for predatory behaviors but wish there was warning for sex as I was listening to this with my elementary age daughter. became a teachable moment for me to her.

Good story, wrong narrator

The story was an interesting and successful adaptation - the parts of the simple fairy tale are there, and the updates made the experience of such a familiar story: wicked, predatory stepparent, duped other parent, kids who turn the tables, even mysterious woods.

BUT. The narrator was not the right choice for this story. She seems oddly uncomfortable with the dialogue, especially (strange given she’s a voice actor) - the text clearly gives the characters aspects of speech that she avoids conveying, as if she were reading a transcript and not a story. It took me out of the story so much that I had to stop about 1/3 through and switch to the text.

I don’t mean to say that the reader is not skilled, but this was not a good fit as read, and something that more attentive direction might have helped, perhaps.

Interesting short story

This story held my attention, as I tried to figure out what was going on with these two and the mysterious house. The tone got a little darker as the story progressed. But, it was believable as a cautionary tale of Big City perils. Although the conclusion was a wee bit contrived, I'm satisfied with how it ended. I enjoyed the the writing and storytelling. The characters were well defined. The narrator did a good job with tone and pacing. I would read this author's stories again.

Enjoyed it!

I like that it’s short enough to listen to in one setting and a good story

weird

trigger warning, abusive stepfather, bipolar mother.

the story jumped back and forth which is fine if you are listening in one setting, I did not. I was unaware that this was a short story! kind of obvious twist.

Great rework of Hazel and Gretel

Great rework of Hazel and Gretel with a twist on modern day sex trafficking and wicked step-fathers.

Really well written for a modern day remake of a classic fairy tale

A mesmerizing listen

HAZEL AND GRAY by Nic Stone is a dark but mesmerizing listen but contains mature topics (rape and sex-trafficking), which separates it from the other stories in this series. It is only very loosely connected to Hansel and Gretel, and without two small references, readers likely wouldn’t make the connection. In just one hour’s time, the author gives a fully developed story that has intensity and a twist. Narrator Kimberly Woods does a great job narrating.

A fast tale with a twist.

There was a twist but it seemed to be logical to me. it was fast to play.

different spin

That was certainly a different spin on the story. I did enjoy it though sorta how it would be told nowadays.